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The X Factor 2018: Everything you need to know

The hunt for the nation’s next top pop sensation is back this week, as The X Factor returns to brighten up our Saturday evenings.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new series:

When does it start?

The X Factor returns to ITV this Saturday, September 1 at 8pm.

Who are the judges?

After series stalwarts Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger announced they were leaving the judging panel, Simon Cowell faced a complete reshuffle.

Joining Cowell in the judges seats will be former X Factor and One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, pop sensation Robbie Williams and actress and Loose Women panelist Ayda Field.

Sharon Osbourne will return as a judge only at the live shows stage of the competition.

Who will host?

There are no surprises here, as Dermot O’Leary is set to return as host.

Are there any changes from last year’s show?

As a matter of fact, yes. One change will allegedly see The X Factor take tips from Cowell’s other telly talent show, with the addition of a Britain’s Got Talent-style ‘Golden X’ button for judges. Like the gold button on BGT, pressing this will give each judge the power to send one act straight through to the judges houses.

Another change is The X Factor has gone international, with open auditions for the show taking place as far away as Benidorm and Tenerife.

X Factor contestant wows judges with original song inspired by Eastenders’ Mick and Linda

For this year’s Bootcamp, contestants were invited to perform their own original songs in front of the judges. 17-year-old student Matthews made the bold move of admitting his original song – ‘Daydream’ – had a surprising muse.

“It was inspired by characters on EastEnders, if I’m being totally honest with you,” Matthews told Simon Cowell, who seemed less than impressed. “Mick and Linda.”

Despite being unconvinced by the subject matter, the judges and audiences were blown away by the performance – with Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and a number of audience members all giving Matthews a standing ovation.

Meanwhile, fans at home were so impressed by the song and performance they took to Twitter to demand Matthews wins the competition.

More on The Voice

Some serious shots have been fired by Sharon Osbourne at BBC One series The Voice.

The X Factor judge Sharon has slammed rival show The Voice, branding the show “a gimmick” that is full of “toads”.

She said: “The Voice is a gimmick with the twisty chairs. I love the judges and if I was asked to do it and didn’t have TheX Factor, course I’d do it.

“But you cannot judge talent on voice alone because if Mick Jagger was up there nobody would turn around.”

Mrs O continued: “It’s not just about the voice. They have all these toads up there and I’m sorry half of them are backing singers.

“That’s why no stars have come from the show.”

Speaking earlier this month, Sharon insisted you have to have more than strong vocal ability to make it in the music industry. She explained: “You have to have a bit of everything. You’ve got to be able to entertain, to connect with an audience.

“You can stand up there and have the best voice in the world but if you don’t show anything, if you’re blank, it’s nothing.”

She continued: “Some people come and sing but they’re not connecting, not even looking at me. So how can I be invested in you when I don’t know who you are, I’ve no idea.

“You’re just standing there like a lump of ice? What do I take away from that?

“Yeah they can sing, but it’s like watching paint dry. You can give people the benefit of the doubt, they’re nervous, inexperienced, so you put them through but say next time you want them to connect.

“Then you see them the second time and they don’t, I’m like, ‘Nope’. I get really frustrated with it.”

The presenter teased: “We have singing, we have dancing, we have me…singing and dancing.

“Find out what it’s all about, when we return to ITV on 2nd of September.”

The new series will see Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh all make a comeback to the panel and, although the judges remain the same, it has been said there are going to be some other major changes this year.

According to The Sun, there will be drastic alterations to the format of the ITV series, with only six live shows instead of the usual ten. Contestants will also be eliminated on both the Saturday and the Sunday show, rather than a performance-only Saturday followed by the Sunday results.

Additionally, exciting changes will be made to the early stages of the show as Simon plans to hold the first auditions at Thorpe Park!

“The Saturday night show became so tedious as there was rarely any drama which an eviction would bring.

“ITV believes transforming it is the right decision. It means all singers will perform on both Saturday and Sunday evenings, with acts being eliminated both nights.

“They are doing the Thorpe Park auditions early on too, because producers think the unconventional location will create some funny footage. They want to get shots of the judges on white-knuckle rides.”

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Simon Cowell is making some pretty massive changes to the X Factor this year, after disappointing viewing figures in 2016.

According to The Sun, there will be drastic alterations to the format of the ITV series, with only six live shows instead of the usual ten. Contestants will also be eliminated on both the Saturday and the Sunday show, rather than a performance-only Saturday followed by the Sunday results.

Additionally, exciting changes will be made to the early stages of the show as Simon plans to hold the first auditions at Thorpe Park!

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Simon Cowell has donated £100,000 to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire this morning (Wednesday, June 21) in the hope that it will “encourage others”.

The man behind X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent made the large donation after releasing his Artists for Grenfell charity single: “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.

The adaption of the famous Garfunkel tune features many big-name artists, including Rita Ora, Stormzy, Robbie Williams, Liam Payne, Emeli Sande, Louis Tomlinson, James Bay, The Who, Ella Henderson and Leona Lewis.

Profits from the single will go towards the victims of the tragedy, which left at least 79 people dead.

Simon told The Sun newspaper: “I’ve kicked off my donation page with £100,000, which I hope will encourage others.

“It’s been an amazing team effort. Everyone has united. When you hear the record it’s really emotional.

“At 8pm, ITV are going to show the video exclusively after Coronation Street.”

The emotional track begins with a tribute from grime artist Stormzy, who raps: “Yeah, I don’t know where to begin so I’ll start by saying I refuse to forget you, I refuse to be silenced, I refuse to neglect you.

“That’s for every last soul up on Grenfell even though I’ve never even met you.

“That could have been my mum’s house. That could have been my nephew.”

You can donate to the cause by downloading the charity single from iTunes or by making a contribution directly toArtists for Grenfell.

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Olly Murs reveals he will duet with fellow X Factor star Louisa Johnson in new single

X Factor stars Olly Murs and Louisa Johnson will be teaming up for a new single named “Unpredictable”.

The former X Factor contestants have both gone on to have successful solo careers since competing on the ITV show and today Olly announced his next single will be a duet with 2015 winner Louisa.

Sharing the exciting news on Twitter, Olly posted a video clip of the pair fist bumping with the caption: “I can now reveal my next single is UNPREDICTABLE….A duet with the awesome @louisa #unpredictable.”

No doubt Olly and Louisa will have good chemistry together after working together previously. Not only was Olly host on the X Factor the year Louisa won, but the “Best Behaviour” singer also joined Olly on his UK tour as the support act earlier this year.

The summer tour featured hits from Olly’s most recent album, 24 Hrs, which was released late last year and was his fourth album to make it to the number one spot.

It was recently reported that Nicole was the only judge to not renew her X Factor contract and so it may well be true that the singer will venture elsewhere this year.

Mel B works alongside Simon on America’s Got Talent in the US and also appeared as a judge on the X Factor in 2014. However, the star was supposedly axed from the series and was later replaced when Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw joined the panel alongside Cheryl and Simon.

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X Factor’s Louisa Johnson reveals new music video for Best Behaviour

The new music video for Louisa Johnson’s latest single “Best Behaviour” has landed.

The X Factor winner’s new track was released during March and now the official music video has also been revealed. The video sees Louisa perform the lyrics to her love song in the totally relevant setting of an airplane graveyard. Before long, the 19-year-old is joined by a campervan full of of backing dancers for a circus-themed, fire-eating extravaganza… with swings?

We’re not sure what it’s all meant to mean, but it sure does look cool. And it seems the fans would agree, as the video has already racked up nearly one million views.

Speaking about her new song recently, Louisa revealed “Best Behaviour” is her favourite track from her debut album.

She said: “It’s very different from “So Good” and “Tears” but I think that’s interesting. No one would really expect it and it’s my favourite song on the whole album.

“I can never sit down and listen to an album that all sounds very similar, so I like to change it up. I’ve met some amazing people, especially songwriters who’ve written the biggest hits in the world.”

The singer also told fans this week that her upcoming album is still a “work in progress”, but will definitely be released in 2017. Louisa told us what we can expect from the songs on the LP: “There’s another song with Clean Bandit, but this time it’s me featuring them, which makes me feel cool.

“There are two more features on the album so far, but there could be more. It’s a work in progress.”

Speaking about her new single to OK! magazine, the singer revealed: “It’s very different from “So Good” and “Tears” but I think that’s interesting. No one would really expect it and it’s my favourite song on the whole album.

“I can never sit down and listen to an album that all sounds very similar, so I like to change it up.

“I’ve met some amazing people, especially songwriters who’ve written the biggest hits in the world.”

Louisa also discussed the writing process, explaining: “It’s hard to start writing but when you get into the swing of it and you’re with the right people, it just flows.

“Don’t get me wrong – there are songs on the album I haven’t written, but I would never sing a song that doesn’t relate to me, ever.”

“Best Behaviour” will be Louisa’s third single and she has assured us that her long awaited album will “definitely” be out in 2017.

The 19-year-old collaborated with Clean Bandit last year on their hit song “Tears”, before releasing her own single “So Good”. After the success of their first collab, Louisa has promised that another song featuring Clean Bandit will appear on her debut album.